Tips for Dr. Mario

Alot of people don't seem to realize this but Dr. Mario is more of a baiting/defensive character meaning he works best when he lures the opponents to him rather than approaching them. Dr. Mario lacks speed being slower than King Dedede in fact making his playstyle quite different from Mario's. He requires much more patience compared to Mario and has different combo's as well. At early percents Dr. Mario can down throw to up smash on most characters, down throw to back air and down throw to up air (though it is best to space the up air out at low percents due to it having lower hitstun than Mario's).

Dr. Mario's down throw can actually lead to an up tilt chain on fast fallers such as Greninja. At mid percents 30%-65% Dr. Mario can still use down throw to up air, he can still use down throw to back air on middle or heavy weight characters as well but it may not work on lighter characters. Dr. Mario can actually down throw into forward airs on a few characters at higher percents but you must be aware of what percent it will become a true combo as it is different for each character, this is affected by rage as well so I recommend practicing this combo.

Lastly, Dr. Mario's recovery is not as half as bad as people make it seem,depending on what situation you're in affects the best way you should use your Dr. Tornado. If you're recovering horizontally (from the side of the screen) it's best to Dr.Tornado first which will save your double jump for when you need it and grant you horizontal distance. If you're recovering vertically you'll have to double jump into your tornado which will grand you more vertical distance. Both of these methods require good button mashing so I would recommend practicing your down b mashing to reach it's maximum height as tornado can actually help Dr. Mario's jump height quite a bit. (I practiced it until I was able to reach the highest platform near the right blast zone on the temple) It's important not to use Tornado when you are close to the stage when recovering unless you have to as it can be quite punishable. Well that's it, remember the key to using Dr. Mario is to bait and have patience as his slow speed and reach hinder his approaching ability. (Also the ratings of his attacks are ridiculous since they're all just Mario's with more power and same frame data besides the landing lag of the aerials) I hope this helps!

Here is some great advice, Doc's Up-Air can get you a free grab! I've done D-throw into Up-Air but then the Up-Air allows me too grab my opponent again and again.4 times in a row. I've even taught my Dr Mario Amiibo such a powerful combination!

Doctor Mario, probably the most underrated character in Smash 4. Most say he sucks at combos, his recovery is the worst, he's too slow (dammit, Sonic)... Among others. But Doc actually isn't as terrible as others make him seem.Use his down-b to recover before anything else (unless you're recovering straight upwards, in which you wall jump, the double jump, then up-b), and MOVE TOWARDS THE STAGE AS YOU DO SO. Of course, mash B. If that doesn't get you to the stage, use the double jump, then up-b. His combos are actually very good. Up-tilt start epic aerial combos, and so does down tilt. He even has a KO combo, down throw to f-air. He KOs very early, especially with his side smash.I personally think they need to buff his jump height a bit and that's all they need to do!

OH MY GOD DOC'S RECOVERY SUCKS!!! Naw I'm just kidding, that's what like most of the people who play Doc think though. Dr.Mario is... I wanna say a character with balanced stats but his running speed is far to horrible for that, maybe if he ran at like a 1.433 he would be balanced. Dr.Mario is not the same character as Mario so don't try to play him like he is, they aren't anything like Pit and Dark Pit in fact, Dr.Mario is without a doubt the clone who's the least like the original counterpart. Dr.Mario's up air attack doesn't send people upwards like Mario's so don't say Doc can't combo if you try to combo like he's Mario. Dr.Mario's combos are more horizontal meaning you have to move either left or right when you're comboing an opponent. Dr.Mario's back air is now a good killing move in like the 140s with percent I wanna say, also his Super Jump Punch is a great killing move now and can kill at 140% damage on the average weight character.

Dr.Tornado is a great recovery tool and it works even better if you use it before using your double jump. Listen to me; DOCS RECOVERY DOES NOT SUCK IF YOU TAP THE B BUTTON AND TORNADO BEFORE THE DOUBLE JUMP! Dr.Tornado also has some kill potential and can be used for a good edgeguard tool actually.Dem pills is what you start throwing when you're being backed up against the other side of the stage because of an opponents attack you can seem to get around. Just start jumping and popping dem pills at them eventually you'll be able to get some grabs in and other things if you annoy them with those pills enough.Dr.Mario's headbutt (Up Smash) no longer sends foes upwards like it used too before the 1.0.6 update but now sends them horizontal for sidecreen kills, it's really weird but very useful, if you're fighting an opponent who's hanging on the stage trying to get back on and they roll you'll send right back over there with that up smash, if you're confident on what your opponent's about to do charge it a bit so it would kill.

Overall Dr.Mario is a pretty good character I main him along with Mario and I have to say that Dr.Mario is not as good as Mario due to him being MUCH slower but a bit stronger. Balanced right? Naw! It's been stated that Dr.Mario's 18% slower than Mario and his attacks are Mario's multiplied by 1.12 which is stupid by the way. Dr.Mario's is still a good character who many people are overlooking because of Mario being much MUCH faster I think Dr.Mario is definitely NOT EVEN CLOSE of being the worse character in the game if anything he's only 1-5 tiers lower than Mario I should say. But in all seriousness and to make Dr.Mario better for everyone boost his run speed to 1.432 Sakurai, that's balanced right there buddy.

Hello, I'm Marshall. Professional Rosalina detester. I think Dr. Mario has some unnoticeable potential over his over-sporting original. Firstly, as noticed, his moves are stronger, which can inflict more damage, farther knockback, and lead to an easier K.O. Although his speed and jump are lessened, they do come in handy if your opponent comes to meteor you, but barely misses and gives you a prime opportunity to punish. Also, under the right circumstances, Dr. Mario will win against Rosalina 10-0. (Please she's so O.P. Down vote her now!) Under dog for top tier!

Dr.Mario is a character with balanced stats (despite small deviations) just like Mario, and can wall jump as well, however, with Dr.Mario more focused on hitting power rather than agility. But beware, this also makes the plumber-turned-docter less user-friendly in the form of lower speed, lower jump and different specials. Dr.Mario's normal set is like Mario's in turn of frames, they are the exact same speed, but Dr.Mario hits harder. The most notable difference in his normal set is his Forward Aerial move. The Forward Aerial Move may look like it, but it's NOT a Meteor Smash, this moves begins to KO at 110% with the Mario Standard Weight (adjust as needed for other fighters), assuming that your hit is at the center of an Omega stage. The Doctor's Forward Smash attack can KO at lower percentages at lower charge, as tested alongside Mario, begins to KO at 90%, but his Up Smash doesn't send the opponent straight up, hindering KO power, but not combo potential.

Specials:Megavitamins: These virus busters act similarly to Mario's Fireballs, in which these are used for a projectile attack. The capsules hit harder, and have the benefit of physical projectiles, meaning that they can't be absorbed. The capsules also bounce higher, which while useful against those who try to jump it, can be hindering as it can be low profiled.

Super Sheet: Reflection moves are handy in expert hands, and this is no exception. This move has many applications of Mario's Cape, being that it reflects projectiles and flips the opponents direction, but this can't gain height. Instead of recoveries, try using this to edge guard and intercepting certain recovery moves. It may be a little hard to spot, but the Super Sheet exchanges length for width.

Super Jump Punch: If you know how to use Luigi's Super Jump Punch, you know how to use Dr. Mario's as well, this is because they are both stronger at the start. This has lower distance than Mario's version, but KOs at the same percentages as his Forward Aerial. But beware, if you miss, you can be punished for it.

Dr. Tornado: This is what seals Mario and Dr. Mario's differences nowadays. This move can be used to give you some breathing space if a crowd comes at you, as it can hit hard and many times. This travels less distance and can't ascend as high. Use it before any of your other recovery moves, remember to practice this trick.

The trick to Doc is his DB. This move is a Swiss army knife. It has the potential to override almost all other characters moves (almost, pay close attention to the hit box of this move. It's not an all encompassing thing, I.E. his head seems to be vulnerable in certain situations), it's amazing for mind games, its animation is long which makes it great for punishing opponents who abuse spot dodging and it's even surprisingly great for OK's in certain situations. But the most important use for his DB is for recovery. If used correctly, it's even better than Mario's cape when recovering form a big hit.

Here's a break down: Doc's DB gains altitude when the B is mashed. Going into training mode and practicing this is highly recommended, cause there is (surprisingly) a rhythm to it, but madly mashing B can still get you decent height. Make sure you also hold UP through the entirety of his animation. This is very important, because the move is not only effected on a x axis, but also the y axis. By holding up, you can maximize the height of this move. This is also great for mix ups when recovering to the ledge. A ledge guarding opponent will more than likely not see this coming and if they try to ledge guard, they'll most likely find themselves sucked up and ripe for punishment.

The strat's to this move runs much deeper, so I highly recommend experimenting it.

You're right though Marshal, people keep trying to use him like he's Mario and they think he has bad recovery. Who's the idiot who came up with that dumb lie anyway? Probably someone just swinging the Super Sheet to recover and failing like 95% of the terrible Dr.Mario players out there. Dr.Mario is like even with Mario, real talk

Why is the Doctor so low? Dr.Mario has many kill moves, he doesn't move as quick as Mario anymore but he is stronger than his melee self in some cases. Super jump punch is one of his kill moves now but be careful how you use it because a miss could be fatal. As for his recovery (which isn't even that bad like people who can't play the game right say it is) Use the Dr.Tornado before you double jump. Always use the Tornado first because it works a lot better is you do it that way. Dr.Mario's Super Sheet does NOT lift him up anymore, I see many noobs on wifi and youtube use it like as if he's Mario or something but it doesn't work like Mario's cape.

Use his Super Sheet if you want more horizontal distance, people don't know but it gives you a bit of a push but I recommend not using it more than once. Dr.Mario can sort of do Mario's up tilt combo, he doesn't need to grab the opponent before he starts up tilting them. It works if you down throw to up tilt against a heavy character though so I recommend using down throw to up tilt against Ganon, Bowser, Dk, Dedede, and other heavy characters. Dr.Mario is a good character, a pretty solid character who people haven't discovered how to use properly yet. It's similar to the first tiers of melee when Dr.Mario was considered to be worst than Mario but now things are different now and hopefully things will change for the good doctor once again.

Though, it may not be what you're looking for. Unfortunately, this time around seems to have a role reversal, as Dr. Mario has become a much more "basic" and "Starter" character than his clone-counterpart, Mario.

Attacks performed by both characters have a notable difference, and it appears Dr. Mario's selling point is being able to inflict raw damage and power, but lack little ability to combo or pull off any follow ups.

For instance, Mario's up-tilt can be combo'd into more tilts, an u-air, and a up special for a possible 50%. Such techniques like this are not available to Dr.Mario, as his up tilt cannot be followed up with nothing more than a possible up special.

Dr. Mario F-Air lacks a Meteor Smash, instead having a general hitbox that inflicts damage at all times when out. Dr. Mario has slower and weaker projectile, focusing on power over spacing.

Dr. Mario's Tornado is an incredibly powerful move, but does not have the gimping ability that Mario has with FLUDD. Doc's throws can be followed up, though not as much as one could do with Mario. Smashes are generally slower but stronger.

Overall, Doc is a good starting character. For newer players who want to get used to a Mario feel without dealing with the learning curve of the more advanced technique to make him work. Dr. Mario is simple and efficient.

Doc returns, but he lost one of his selling points from Melee which was a reliable KO setup from either Down Throw or Up Throw into Fair. That combo usually doesn't work now, and Fair is weaker than it was in Melee, unfortunately.

Picking Doc over Mario will involve one of these differences:Fair doesn't spikeFsmash is lightning, and stronger than Mario's, but has less range.Pill instead of Fireball. The angle is slightly lower, and the speed is a bit slower. This is a little better for controlling space close to Doc.Different Down Air and Down B. The "classic" moveset from Melee.

Doc doesn't rack up damage from a down throw or up tilt quite as easily as Mario, but he has Down Throw Up Air as a guaranteed combo from many percents. He also KOs with Fsmash a bit earlier, so it is not a terribly worse situation, but I think Mario should be tried out first.

Doc is a very basic character. Projectile to control space, especially while jumping, harass with grabs, jabs, dash attack. Poke with Neutral Air, Back Air, and punish with Fsmash.